Who Says Girls Can't Give Flowers?
by Gokai Yellow
Summary: Based on a word prompt from tumblr where an anon requested Threnda and flowers. Set in Paradise, Brenda contemplates giving Thomas flowers.


"Hmm maybe these?" Brenda mused as she bent down to study the small clump of dandelions she found in the grassy area of Paradise. A gentle breeze blew through the grass blades and made the seed heads on the dandelions take flight. One head flew up Brenda's nose and she sputtered as she tried to force it out from her nostril.

"Def – cough, cough! Definitely not – cough!" Brenda wheezed as she moved away from the dandelions.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked from behind.

Brenda managed to get the seed head out of her nose before looking over her shoulder to see Sonya standing a few feet away with a basket in her hand.

"Were you trying to smell those?" Sonya asked her as she stood up.

Brenda shook her head no and muttered that one of them got a seed head in her nose.

"Yeah I see," Sonya said. "Hang on, aren't you supposed to be helping Gally build today?"

"No, he said he had it under control," Brenda sighed as she stood up and dusted herself off. She pointed to Sonya's basket and Sonya shrugged as she stepped towards the dandelions and began picking them for her basket.

"Dandelion soup," Sonya explained. "It's Beth's favorite – thought I should look for them while I was searching for edible plants and stuff. You weren't doing anything with them, right?"

"Uh no," Brenda replied. "I just figured that they weren't gonna work anyways."

Sonya frowned and tilted her head towards the older girl. "Work for what?"

Brenda shoved her hands into her pockets and hoped her face wasn't flooded with color. She looked around the grassy area in search of other flowers. "Yeah…um, see I wanted to…give Thomas some flowers," Brenda explained. "But uh, I haven't um, found anything that fits. …Kinda stupid I know."

Sonya furrowed her brow and crossed her arms over her chest. "Stupid how? Hang on, did you ask one of those Sticks for advice like Gally or Aris?"

Brenda held up her hands in defense. "Hey, those guys know Thomas better than I do. But all Gally did was tell me how weird that was, Aris said it was unusual for a girl to give a guy flowers, and Minho, well yeah, he just said something snarky and left when I asked him."

"In other words you got advice from all guys who don't know what they're doing," Sonya said as she rolled her eyes. "I mean really – Gally couldn't romance a radish if he tried! Beth has dropped hints for him and he clearly hasn't gotten them. Aris, well that Stick's a weird one and I still haven't been able to figure him out."

"Gee thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Brenda muttered as she rubbed the back of her neck. So far all she had gotten was a lot of hopeless advice from her friends and she was no where closer to finding the right flower for Thomas. She wanted to find something that was nice, something that would help her say how she felt about him.

Even though he sort of forgave her while they were in the coffee shop, she felt guilty about leading him on in the Scorch. He had believed that he was helping out someone who was sick and needed the help, only to find out that she was working for the same guys he had been trying to run from. She could hardly blame him for being distrustful about everyone and everything but all she wanted to do was tell him how sorry she was. How touched she was that he tricked the pilot on the Berg before turning the tables on him. How she cared about him as…a friend, maybe even a little more than just a friend.

Sonya softened her expression. "Look, if ya really want to give Thomas flowers, forget those Sticks who say otherwise. If he's as good of a guy as everyone makes him out to be, he won't complain about them."

Brenda looked up from the ground and met Sonya's eyes. "Thanks…Sonya," Brenda said as she straightened up. "You know what? I will – Thomas will get it. Or at least I think he will."

Sonya nodded and she picked up the basket, sliding it into the crook of her elbow. "I saw some daisies and other flowers over there a couple minutes ago," Sonya said before heading back to the kitchen area. "Unless you're more of a tropical, crazy flower Stick, which in that case, those types of flowers are near the greenery near the beach."

* * *

><p>Brenda wiped one sweaty palm on her pants as she wandered around the small huts built by Gally and some of the other survivors who were skilled at building. She was nervous about all of this but at the same time, she was ready to sit down and talk to Thomas about all of it. She was carrying a bouquet of mixed flowers from daisies to daffodils and an occasional hibiscus flower, all hand-picked by her.<p>

"You were serious?" Gally asked her as he passed.

"Uh yeah," Brenda said as she squared her shoulders and gripped the bouquet a little tighter in her hand. "What's wrong with me giving someone I care about flowers?"

Gally blinked and held his hands up in defeat as Brenda brushed past him to check one of the huts for Thomas. She slipped into the doorway and saw that Thomas was seated on the edge of his bed, turning a small clay figure over in his hands. Brenda swallowed hard when she saw the figure. Chuck.

For a second she considered leaving him be and trying this whole flowers and talk thing another day, but then Thomas happened to look up from the figurine and he turned towards Brenda.

"Hi Brenda," he said as he placed the figure down on the nightstand. He tilted his head when he saw the flowers in her hand. "What's with the flowers?"

Brenda stepped forward and pushed the flowers into his arms. "For…you," she said as she met his eyes. She rocked on her heels and shoved her hands into her pockets.

"Listen Thomas," she began, "I…I know it's been one Hell of a ride getting to Paradise. A lot happened between the Scorch and now, but I wanted to let you know that while my intentions were wrong earlier, you should know that I really, truly care about you now." She took a deep breath and looked down at her feet for a few moments.

Thomas stood up and walked towards her, Brenda's eyes never leaving the floor. He stepped close to her and crushed her in a hug as one hand held the bouquet.

"Thank you Brenda," he said. "I think…I think we're gonna be all right for now."

Brenda felt her face warm when she felt his arms wrap around her smaller frame. She closed her eyes as she hugged him back, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. _Guess Sonya was right after all. _


End file.
